Hagrid was born on 6 December, 1928 to Mr. Hagrid, a wizard, and Fridwulfa, a giantess, and grew up in the West Country of England, near the Forest of Dean, where he acquired his distinctive accent[6][7]. When Hagrid was about three, his mother returned to her Giant colony, leaving his father to raise him alone. Hagrid said he had very few memories of his mother from his childhood, but remembered his father fondly; as a half-giant, he overtook his father in size by the age of six, and amused the "tiny" wizard by picking him up and setting him on top of a dresser when Hagrid was annoyed with him. [8]

Years at Hogwarts

"Hagrid was only a boy, but he cared for me, hidden in a cupboard in the castle, feeding me scraps from the table..."

Hagrid's father was thrilled when his son was accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where Hagrid began his education in 1940, and was sorted into Gryffindor House[3]. During his third year, Hagrid acquired one in what would be a long line of dangerous pets: a young Acromantula, which he named Aragog. That same year, Tom Marvolo Riddle opened the Chamber of Secrets and unleashed a far more dangerous monster, which Riddle used to attack and petrify a number of Muggle-born students, until he finally caused the death of a girl named Myrtle. When the school was threatened with closing, a consequence highly undesired by Riddle, the boy found out about Aragog, and turned Hagrid in as the culprit; he even further slandered Hagrid with accusations of raising werewolf cubs under his bed and running off into the Forbidden Forest to wrestle trolls. Hagrid protected Aragog and helped him flee to the Forbidden Forest; however, he was shortly thereafter expelled from Hogwarts[9], a fate he was relieved his father never knew of, having died during Hagrid's second year[10].

Following his expulsion, the Ministry of Magic forbade Hagrid from practising magic and destroyed his wand. Albus Dumbledore nonetheless convinced then Headmaster, Armando Dippet, to give Hagrid the job of Gamekeeper and allow him to remain a resident of the school. Hagrid continued to do magic using his pink umbrella, which most likely contained the broken fragments of his wand, or perhaps even his entire wand intact, reconstructed for him by Dumbledore using the Elder Wand[11].

Between the wars

Meeting Harry Potter

Rubeus Hagrid: "This boy's had his name down ever since he was born. He'll be goin' to the finest school of witchcraft and wizardry in the world and he'll be under the greatest headmaster that Hogwarts has ever seen; Albus Dumbledore."

Vernon Dursley: "I will not pay to have some crackpot old fool teach him magic tricks!"

After Harry was accepted to Hogwarts in 1991, Hagrid was given the task of actually locating Harry, as Harry's uncle Vernon was doing everything in his power to prevent his nephew from receiving his Hogwarts acceptance letter. On Harry's eleventh birthday, Hagrid found the Dursleys and Harry in an extremely isolated Hut-on-the-Rock, and forced his way in, much to Vernon and Petunia's intense displeasure. Not only did Hagrid show Harry some of the first real kindness he'd ever known, bringing him a birthday cake and generally caring about Harry's comfort and happiness in a way the Dursley's would never have even considered, but he also revealed to Harry that he was a wizard. Hagrid also attempted to turn Harry's spoiled, bully of a cousin, Dudley, into a pig, but only managed to give the boy a pig's tail. However, Hagrid credited this to the fact that Dudley was so much like a pig already, that there wasn't much left to do.

Once it was confirmed that Harry would be attending Hogwarts, after Hagrid decidedly ignored the Dursleys' protests, he helped Harry find his bearings in the magical world by taking him to Diagon Alley, through the Leaky Cauldron, to buy his school necessities. While in Diagon Alley, Hagrid took Harry to Gringotts Wizarding Bank in order to withdraw some funds from the Potter's vault, as well as to retrieve the Philosopher's Stone from high-security Vault 713, to be transported to Hogwarts for even safer keeping. Hagrid also purchased Hedwig, a snowy white owl, for Harry's eleventh birthday.

Protecting the Philosopher's Stone

"Listen to me, all three of ya: Yer meddlin' in things that aught not to be meddled in; it's too dangerous. What that dog is guarding is strictly between Professor Dumbledore and Nicholas Flamel."

—Hagrid trying to convince Harry, Ron, and Hermione to stop nosing in about the Philosopher's Stone[src]

When news got out that Vault 713 had been broken into (shortly after it had been emptied by Hagrid and Harry), Harry, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger quickly realised that whatever Hagrid had moved from Gringotts to Hogwarts was being hidden in the off-limits Third Floor Corridor and guarded by a massive, three-headed dog. Though Hagrid refused to disclose what the vault had contained, he mentioned that the secret was "between Professor Dumbledore an' Nicolas Flamel". In the spring of 1992, Hagrid met a hooded man (Quirinus Quirrell in disguise) at the Hog's Head, and was enticed to play a game of cards when the mysterious person bet a dragon egg. Assuming the man was a Dragon dealer and fellow dangerous Creature enthusiast, and under the influence of a fair amount of mead, Hagrid was convinced to divulge details about Fluffy, the three-headed dog Hagrid had lent to Dumbledore to help guard the Philosopher's Stone. Knowing that Hagrid had always wanted a dragon and thinking it far too much a coincidence that a man just happened to bring a rare dragon egg to the local pub, Harry, Ron, and Hermione questioned Hagrid about exactly what had happened during the card game; this time, Hagrid let slip to the trio what he had told the hooded man: the secret to calming Fluffy was that one simply had to play music and Fluffy would fall asleep. This allowed the trio to pursue the potential thief. Once the dragon egg hatched, Hagrid lovingly named the hatchling Norbert. Harry, Ron, and Hermione convinced him to allow Norbert to be taken to a dragon sanctuary by friends of Ron's brother, Charlie, who worked with dragons. After learning that Voldemort had attempted to steal the Stone using the information Hagrid gave him while drunk, Hagrid was distraught with guilt, but Harry assured Hagrid that he didn't blame him. As an apology, Hagrid spent the time that Harry was unconscious sending off owls to some of his parents' old school friends, assembling an album full of wizarding photos of Harry's parents for him.

During the 1992–1993 school year, Hagrid showed public disdain for the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher Gilderoy Lockhart, despite him never doing so for any other teachers. In 1993 Hagrid was sent to the wizarding prison, Azkaban, when the Chamber of Secrets was re-opened. It was assumed he was the one who reopened the Chamber because his expulsion from Hogwarts was for the same occurrence. Even with Dumbledore backing Hagrid, Minister for MagicCornelius Fudge insisted on taking Hagrid anyway. However, he was able to help Harry and Ron solve the mystery surrounding the Chamber, by telling them to "follow the spiders." This led the boys to Aragog, the Acromantula believed to have attacked students during the 1942-1943 school year, and his family. Though Harry and Ron just barely escaped the encounter with their lives, they managed to obtain some valuable information in the course of their conversation with Aragog: the monster within the Chamber had nothing to do with Hagrid, and the girl it had killed in the 1940s had died in a bathroom. Harry was thus able to find the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets, kill the Basilisk within, and destroy Tom Riddle's diary. As it turned out the actual perpetrator had been the very person who had turned Hagrid in, in 1943, Hagrid was exonerated and released from Azkaban. He returned to Hogwarts at three o'clock in the morning, and joined in the ongoing celebration of the closure of what had been a terrifying incident.

Protecting Buckbeak

"S'all my fault. Got all tongue-tied. They was all sittin' there in black robes an' I kep' droppin' me notes and forgettin' all them dates yeh looked up fer me, Hermione. An' then Lucius Malfoy stood up an' said his bit, and the Committee jus' did exac'ly what he told 'em...."

In the 1993–1994 school year, Hagrid became a professor of the Care of Magical Creatures. For his first lesson, Hagrid taught his third year students about hippogriffs. After explaining the proper way to greet a hippogriff and choosing Harry to demonstrate, Draco Malfoy caused trouble by insulting the hippogriff Buckbeak, even though Hagrid had warned the class to treat the creatures with respect. Buckbeak attacked Draco, and the Ministry of Magic issued an order for Buckbeak's execution after a hearing in which Lucius Malfoy's pull at the Ministry was demonstrated, the incident also damaging Hagrid's self-confidence; later lessons focused on tamer creatures like flobberworms. An appeal took place on 6 June, 1994, but this was to no avail, and Buckbeak was to be executed at sunset that night. Before the execution, Harry, Ron, and Hermione visited Hagrid to console him, and they left just prior to the arrival of the executioner. Knowing Buckbeak's position, and the exact timing of the start of the execution, Harry and Hermione were able to save Buckbeak by going back in time with Hermione's Time-Turner, allowing them to rescue Buckbeak after the Ministry team sent to execute him had confirmed his location while Hagrid and Dumbledore were under observation, thus guaranteeing that neither would be blamed for Buckbeak's rescue/escape[13].

Throughout the year, Hagrid and Olympe Maxime, the half-giantess headmistress of Beauxbatons, had a budding romantic relationship, which included dancing during the Yule Ball. Hagrid confided in her his life story, revealing to her that he is a half-giant, assuming her to be one as well because of her massive size. She was offended by the insinuations that she was part giant, and left him heartbroken.

Rita Skeeter, in her Animagus beetle form, overheard Hagrid's confession and reported it in the Daily Prophet. After receiving a fair amount of hate mail, Hagrid hid in the seclusion of his hut, while Professor Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank temporarily took over Care of Magical Creatures, and attempted to resign from his position as Professor. Dumbledore refused to accept Hagrid's resignation, and he was eventually convinced to come back and teach by Harry, Ron, and Hermione[14].

Second Wizarding War

"Dumbledore sent me to parley with the giants...I tried to convince them to join the cause. But I wasn’t the only one that was trying to win them over."

—Hagrid talks to Harry, Ron, and Hermione about his mission to try and appease the giants.[src]

When Albus Dumbledore learned of Voldemort's rebirth, he sent Hagrid and Madame Maxime as envoys to the giant colonies of north-eastern Minsk, in the hopes of dissuading the giants from joining Lord Voldemort's side in the coming war. Bearing gifts of Gubraithian Fire and a Goblin-made battle helmet, they eventually won over the Gurg, Karkus. However, the Death Eaters, that Voldemort had sent on the same mission, engineered an uprising. This uprising was led by the giant Golgomath who beheaded Karkus and usurped his position. Golgomath then ordered his subordinates to attack Hagrid and Maxime and forced them to flee. Hagrid subsequently found his half-brother Grawp, who was having a hard time within his colony as he was considerably smaller than most giants. Hagrid insisted on bringing Grawp back to Hogwarts. Grawp, however, was highly resistant to the idea and had a general tendency to be violent. Thus Hagrid and Grawp made the journey back to Scotland separately from Madam Maxime[10].

Living with Grawp

Hagrid telling Harry, Ron, and Hermione of his negotiations with the giants.

"Hermione, I couldn't leave him. See -- he's my brother!"

—Hagrid explaining his decision to bring an undersized giant back to Hogwarts[src]

Hagrid resumed his teaching post, beginning with a lesson about Thestrals. Despite their rather off-putting appearance and the inability of most of the class to see them, Hermione found these lessons far more useful than Hagrid's typical classes. Regardless, early in 1996, Professor Umbridge put Hagrid on probation after supposedly finding his lessons unsatisfactory by her standards, despite Hermione's every effort to make sure Hagrid's curriculum was geared toward preparing students for the upcoming O.W.L.s. Umbridge's harsh judgement was largely due to her distaste for "half-breeds," and it was only the resistance she met from Headmaster Dumbledore that kept her from firing Hagrid altogether.

However, once Dumbledore was forced to leave in order to shield Harry from punishment for establishing Dumbledore's Army, Hagrid feared that he would be driven out by the new Headmistress Umbridge. In preparation for this, he introduced Harry and Hermione to Grawp. Grawp took an immediate liking to Hermione, whom he called "Hermy," and Hagrid asked the two of them, along with Ron, to take care of Grawp in his absence. Upon Dumbledore's departure, general chaos reigned within the school, as the students became determined to make Umbridge's job as hard for her as possible; Lee Jordan even released a couple of nifflers into her office, for which she blamed Hagrid. Umbridge finally attempted to have Hagrid forcibly removed from the premises, and possibly arrested, when she brought several Ministry officials to his hut in the middle of the night so as not to cause a commotion with the students due to their earlier presence at Sybill Trelawney's dismissal. Hagrid took on the officials, and as he was largely impervious to their attacks due to his giant half, he was able to escape and go the run, though not before Professor Minerva McGonagall came to his defence and was seriously injured after being hit by four simultaneous Stunning Spells without warning. Once Dumbledore was reinstated as the Headmaster of Hogwarts and Umbridge permanently removed from the school, Hagrid was welcomed back to his post.[10].

Aragog's funeral

When Hagrid found out that none of his sixth-year Gryffindor students chose to continue past their O.W.L. level of Care of Magical Creatures, he initially misinterpreted this as a reflection of his students not liking him, as opposed to his questionable teaching.

Hagrid at Aragog's Funeral with Harry and Professor Slughorn

Hagrid eventually came to forgive Harry, Ron, and Hermione, understanding that their N.E.W.T. classes were difficult with massive work loads (and after Hermione confirmed there was no way even to have fit his class in with Time-Turners, as they had all been smashed during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries); his anger abated completely when he was overcome with worry about the failing health of Aragog. When Aragog died in 1997, he asked Harry, Ron and Hermione to help him bury the dead Acromantula's body, though the heightened security around the castle with Voldemort's confirmed return made that difficult. Ultimately, spurred on by Felix Felicis, Harry went to Hagrid's anyway, and met Professor Horace Slughorn en route. Hagrid, along with Harry and Professor Slughorn, buried Aragog near the pumpkin patch, and then gave his pet a tearful salute involving a good deal of mead. Harry used the situation to his advantage in retrieving a memory of Tom Riddle asking about Horcruxes from a very inebriated Slughorn[15].

Battle of the Seven Potters

—Hagrid to Harry during the Battle of the Seven Potters, in response to Harry's protests that they turn around.[src]

Hagrid and Harry during the Battle over the Little Whinging.

Hagrid was among the thirteen members of the Order of the Phoenix, led by Alastor Moody, that made up the Advance Guard. The Advance Guard was in charge of movingHarry Potter out of the Dursley home before his seventeenth birthday; the plan to do so included having five of Harry's friends (Ron, Hermione, Fleur Delacour, and Fred and George Weasley), as well as Mundungus Fletcher, impersonate Harry to act as decoys, with an Order of the Phoenix member protecting each of them, and fly to six different safe houses before taking portkeys to the Burrow. Knowing that any Death Eaters watching out for them would assume the most skilled Auror would be moving with the real Harry, Alastor Moody took Mundungus Fletcher, while Hagrid was given the important task of protecting the real Harry in the side-car of Sirius Black's old motorcycle.

Rubeus Hagrid and Harry Potter at the battle of the Seven Potters

Arthur Weasley had helped Hagrid make several adjustments to the bike, including adding a button that produced dragon's fire, one that produced a net, and another that produced a solid wall, all of which materialised behind the bike by expanding out of its exhaust pipe. As it turned out, the Death Eaters had found out about the plan to move Harry earlier than rumoured (as the Order had purposely released false information about moving him at a later date) and the seven Harrys, with their Order protectors, were ambushed. Hagrid was able to keep the Death Eaters at bay with the help of the modifications on his bike and Harry's wand-work, but when Harry discovered one of the attacking Death Eaters was an imperiusedStanley Shunpike, he made the unusual move of using the Disarming Charm. As he had done the same unexpected thing in Little Hangleton Graveyard in 1995, Harry was identified as the real deal, and Voldemort came after him personally. In the struggle that followed, the motorcycle was torn apart and Hagrid dove off the bike at a Death Eater, falling a great distance to the ground. He survived, however, as did Harry, when it turned out they had fallen into the protection surrounding the Tonks house. Nymphadora Tonks's parents, Ted and Andromeda Tonks, healed their injuries, as Hagrid comforted Harry over the death of his beloved pet owl Hedwig, saying she had lived a "good old life." Since Hagrid had a history of having trouble keeping secrets, Fleur Delacour suspected Hagrid was the one who had unintentionally leaked the date of the intended move, although Harry refused to blame anyone even before that was revealed not to be the case. That same night, Hagrid and all the other members of the Order mourned the death of Alastor Moody, who had been targeted immediately by Voldemort, exactly as Moody anticipated.

During the summer of 1997, Hagrid was present at Harry's seventeenth birthday party. He gave him a mokeskin bag which held objects retrievable only by the owner. Hagrid also attended Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour's wedding, accidentally sitting in the wrong spot (and destroying a number of chairs) before finding the correct place to sit[16]. During the Wedding Kingsley Shacklebolt warned the crowd that Voldemort had taken over the Ministry. It is unknown if Hagrid fought the Death Eaters that attacked the Burrow.

Hiding

"We have heard within the last few hours, that Rubeus Hagrid, well known gatekeeper at Hogwarts School, has narrowly escaped arrest in the grounds of Hogwarts, where he has rumoured to have hosted a Support Harry Potter party, in his house. However, Hagrid was not taken into custody, and is, we believe, on the run."

Once back at Hogwarts, Hagrid continued his job as gatekeeper and Professor of Care of Magical Creatures. At the request of new headmaster, Severus Snape, Hagrid was placed in charge of students who had been assigned detention. Detention with Hagrid consisted of work in the Forbidden Forest, which was far safer than detention with Amycus and Alecto Carrow. Later that year, Hagrid narrowly escaped arrest after holding a Support Harry Potter party in his hut. He then went into hiding, presumably in the mountains, with his half-brother, Grawp. His escape was reported hours later on the radio program Potterwatch.

Hagrid returned to Hogwarts with Grawp for the final battle. He rushed out on to the grounds to prevent injury being done to the Acromantula who had swarmed out of the Forbidden Forest and were climbing up the walls of the school. He was taken captive by the Death Eaters, and after Harry's apparent death at the Dark Lord's hands, Hagrid was forced to carry Harry back to the castle.

Hagrid hugs Harry after the battle

As the supposed "victory party" approached the castle, Hagrid rebuked the Centaurs for refusing to involve themselves in the fight, but was eventually reduced to sobs over the loss of Harry. When fighting resumed at the arrival of reinforcements, which included Buckbeak and Hagrid's herd of tame Thestrals, as well as the Centaurs, Hagrid threw Walden Macnair against the wall of the Great Hall, possibly recognising him as Buckbeak's intended executioner. Hagrid was among the first to approach and congratulate Harry after Voldemort's ultimate defeat[16].

Later life

"Don't forget Hagrid's invited you to tea next Friday."

—Harry reminding Albus on his appointment with Hagrid.

Hagrid was still working at Hogwarts by 2017, at 89 years old, owing to the natural longevity of giants and half-giants, which also meant that he would likely have an extremely long life by human standards. He invited Harry and Ginny's youngest son, Albus, to his hut for tea, just as he had done during Harry's first year[16]. Hagrid never married, despite his mutual attraction to Madame Maxime, as she was ultimately too sophisticated for them to be a good match.[1]

Physical description

Rubeus Hagrid

Hagrid was born to a wizard father and a giant mother, making him a half-giant. As a half-giant, Hagrid possessed great physical strength and endurance, including a resilience against some spells, though his ability to withstand spells was not as great as that of full giants. He was about twice as tall as an average man (too big for an ordinary-sized broomstick) and three times as wide, with a long mane of shaggy black hair and a beard that covered most of his face. Hagrid's hands were as big as dustbin lids and his feet in their boots were like baby dolphins.[12] He had light skin and dark eyes that glinted like black beetles.

He often wore an exceptionally large moleskin overcoat with several pockets that held many things, though that sometimes caused him to spend a lot of time searching for what he wanted to find. Objects within the pockets have included any number of items, such as mouldy dog biscuits, the key to Harry Potter's Gringottsvault, peppermint humbugs, a squashy package of sausages, a copper kettle, a fire poker, wizard money, a birthday cake, birthday presents, a dirty spotted handkerchief, slug pellets, and a living owl.

Personality and traits

Hagrid was an incredibly warm, kind-hearted man, and would often forget his exceptional size and strength when patting people on the back. Another of Hagrid's greatest traits was his courage. He was also very loyal to his friends and was ready to defend them or fight for them if necessary. However, despite his loyalty, Hagrid was not good at keeping secrets and accidentally told Quirinus Quirrell, Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger how to get past his three headed dog, Fluffy.

Hagrid had a great love of magical creatures, including cross-breeds such as the Blast-Ended Skrewt, and had a better relationship with most of the inhabitants of the Forbidden Forest than most people, including the centaurs, though he had little interest in tame magical creatures due to the lack of a challenge they offered. Despite this, he did show a good understanding of such creatures when he returned to his post as Care of Magical Creatures teacher, continuing lessons on unicorns after Professor Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank[10]. Unfortunately he tended to overlook the dangers behind certain magical creatures, such as his dragonNorbert[12], and his pet Acromantula Aragog, which was alleged by Tom Riddle to be the monster of Slytherin in 1943[13], resulting in Hagrid's expulsion from the school. Hagrid never spoke about why he was expelled and would ignore any inquiries about it. Hagrid was fond of creatures in general and seemed to want to own any creature was even slightly fierce - his desires included a warthog and any dragon that he could get his hands on.

Hagrid had a fondness for drinks and was sometimes known to be aggressive, especially when people insulted or attacked those he cared about. He threatened Vernon Dursley after he called Albus Dumbledore a "crackpot old fool"[12] and, when Igor Karkaroff accused Dumbledore of treachery and spat at his feet, Hagrid actually lifted the Durmstrang Highmaster off the ground and slammed him against a tree, roaring at him to apologise to Dumbledore[14]. When some Aurors stunned Fang and Minerva McGonagall, he attacked the Aurors in a cold fury. Despite this, Hagrid was a very sensitive person, and was known to burst into tears when someone close to him was harmed or killed, or when he felt responsible for something that put his friends in peril, such as telling Quirinus Quirrell how to get past his giant three headed dog, Fluffy[12]. Hagrid was also a good and caring brother to Grawp, insisting on bringing the under-sized giant back to Hogwarts when he found out he was being picked on for his "small" stature by the other giants in his colony, and hiding in the forest, despite the frequent injuries and the trouble doing so caused him[10].

Magical abilities and skills

Magical Mastery: Rubeus Hagrid was quite skilled in the use of magic and could use nonverbal magic via his umbrella. As his wand was apparently destroyed, nonverbal magic via his wand may have been wandless magic as well, both of which were quite difficult to use. However Harry Potter suspected that Hagrid's wand was concealed in his umbrella. It is speculated that Hagrid may have been able to conjure a Patronus, which was a notably difficult spell.[17] Just before Harry Potter's first year at Hogwarts, Hagrid reached the Hut-on-the-Rock, and claimed that he flew there. However it was possible that he was using Sirius Black´s flying motorcycle, although it should be noted that there was no sign of the motorcycle when he and Harry left the hut. Hagrid confided in Harry that, technically, he was not allowed to do magic[18]. Harry later learned that this was because Hagrid had been expelled from Hogwarts and his wand was apparently destroyed some years earlier.[19] During the Battle of the Seven Potters, Hagrid attempted to repair his motorcycle which had been broken during the battle but failed. This shows that there were sometimes some spells which Hagrid was not fully skilled in producing but he was skilled with most spells. However, it should be noted that Hagrid never graduated from Hogwarts which further contributes with his mastery of magic.

Transfiguration: Hagrid was skilled in Transfiguration as shown in the Hut-on-the-Rock when he conjured a pigs tail in Dudley Dursley although he attempted to transfigure him into a pig. However, he noted that Dudley was so much like a pig anyway he didn't need to transfigure him completely.

Elemental Spells: Hagrid was skilled in the Incendio spell as he used it nonverbally to create fire in the Hut-on-the-Rock and was also able to use the Aguamenti Charm, using it to conjure water to put out a fire in his Hut during the Battle of the Astronomy Tower. This shows that Hagrid was able to produce spells involving water and fire which were elements.

Charms: Hagrid had some skill with Charms as he used a spell of his own to enchant a boat to transport him and Harry back to the mainland from the Hut-on-the-Rock and used it on the Hogwarts boats to transport the first years to Hogwarts. Hagrid could also do the Engorgement Charm as he used it to enlarge his pumpkins to a giant size.

Non-verbal Magic: Hagrid was quite skilled at using nonverbal magic as shown when he both created fire and transfigured a pig's tail on Dudley. These spells show that, even though Hagrid never graduated from Hogwarts, he had a powerful command of magic, as nonverbal magic was difficult to use (Hogwarts doesn't teach nonverbal magic until students are in their sixth year).

Magical Resistance: Hagrid was resistant to stunning spells because of his giant's blood. This also gave Hagrid protection against curses, including Dark Magic, which gave him an advantage whenever he was involved in a battle.

Crossbowman: Hagrid was also a skilled crossbowman, a crossbow being his primary means of defence.

Superhuman Strength: Due to his giant's blood, Hagrid possessed superhuman strength, as shown when Vernon Dursley threatened Hagrid with a gun and Hagrid responded by easily twisting his gun to a knot, as if the gun was made of rubber. Hagrid's great strength was also shown when, during the Battle of Hogwarts, he threw Walden Macnair across the Great Hall, a space which can easily fit all the students and staff at Hogwarts. The great strength of Hagrid is also shown whenever he tries to gently pat someone on the back, an act which usually sends the recipient flying. His strength also helps given the kind of creatures he tends to look after such as Fluffy, a gigantic three headed dog, a 10-foot long Blast-Ended Skrewt and Aragog, an Acromantula the size of a small elephant (though seeing as he was Hagrid's friend, he might not have been that bad to look after). Hagrid's strength also proved to be a big advantage when in battle and a powerful blow from Hagrid could knock a person unconscious instantly as shown during his battle with some Aurors in 1996.

Physical Combat Skills: Hagrid was skilled at fighting physically. This is shown in 1996 when Hagrid is attacked by Dolores Umbridge, along with some aurors, who attempted to sack and arrest him. Hagrid managed to physically defeat all the aurors easily which enabled him to escape from Umbridge. Also, in 1998, during the Battle of Hogwarts, Hagrid physically defeated Walden Macnair by throwing him across the Great Hall and he survived the battle. As Hagrid rarely used magic, he normally relied on these skills and his great strength to fight in a battle and presumably used his skills to participate in the First and Second Wizarding Wars when he was a member of the Order of the Phoenix.

Care of Magical Creatures: Hagrid was also skilled in looking after magical creatures, including dangerous creatures. Hagrid's skill in looking after creatures allowed him to be the Care of Magical Creatures professor even though he was not a fully qualified wizard. The creatures Hagrid taught included Hippogriffs, Blast-Ended Skrewts, Nifflers, Unicorns and Thestrals. Some of the creatures Hagrid looked after included a three headed dog named Fluffy, his pet BoarhoundFang, a baby Dragon named Norbert, an Acromantula named Aragog, a Hippogriff named Buckbeak and his half brother Grawp, who was a Giant. Hagrid was skilled enough to earn the respect of Grawp despite his violent nature. Due to his friendship with Aragog, Hagrid was the only person who was able to visit the Acromantula tribe in the Forbidden Forest without being harmed. Hagrid was also friends with the Centaurs in the Forbidden Forest, sometimes even visiting them.

Cooking: Living alone in his cabin, Hagrid did much of his cooking himself, though he would have meals in the Great Hall on occasion, such as the various school feasts. He apparently enjoyed his own food, though, being a half-giant, his tastes often clashed with those of his guests. He has been known to serve such foodstuffs to his guests as rock cakes that are too hard for a normal human to chew and a "beef casserole" that was actually made of some taloned creature. Guests used to his cooking will often respectfully decline his food, even if it was something of his they had never tried, such as when Harry and Ron refused some Bath buns he had made in 1994.

In their fourth year, Harry and his classmates were expected to help take care of Hagrid's Blast-Ended Skrewts, one of which (grown to an enormous size) was placed in the hedge maze for the final task of the Triwizard Tournament.

Relationships

Family

"She wasn' really the maternal sort. Well ... it's not in their natures, is it?"

Rubeus Hagrid was born to Mr. Hagrid, a wizard, and the giantessFridwulfa. Fridwulfa left the family because her son was "too small" for her liking, though Hagrid never seemed to resent her for abandoning him, generally appearing relatively indifferent about his lack of relationship with her. His father, on the other hand, seemed to be a very caring man who was heartbroken when his wife left, and was amused by the fact that, at the age of six, Hagrid was large enough to be able to set him on top of a dresser[8]. Mr. Hagrid died when his son was twelve years old, and by the time Hagrid tried to find his mother in 1995, she too had died, although he dismissed the issue on the grounds that he barely remembered her.

During his travels to the Northern giant colonies that same year, Hagrid found his maternal half-brother: an undersized giant called Grawp. As Grawp's size made it difficult for him to function within his colony, Hagrid brought him back to Hogwarts and hid him within the Forbidden Forest. Hagrid's attempts to raise and socialise Grawp initially appeared completely pointless; Grawp's progress in picking up English, or in curbing his violence, which often left Hagrid with a number of painful looking injuries, seemed almost non-existent.

However, over the course of the year, Grawp grew increasingly attached to his brother, and was distressed by Hagrid's disappearance after Dolores Umbridge attempted to have Hagrid arrested in 1996[10]. By Albus Dumbledore's funeral, Grawp was relatively calm and presentable, and he even attempted to comfort Hagrid by patting him (though a bit too hard) on the head[15]. Grawp spent the first part of the Battle of Hogwarts stumbling around, yelling for "Hagger," but eventually jumped in to the fray, fighting the giants brought to the battle by Voldemort[16].

Albus Dumbledore

Albus Dumbledore placed incredible trust in Hagrid, which Hagrid returned with fierce loyalty and unwavering admiration. This loyalty always flared up whenever someone insulted Dumbledore, one time causing Hagrid to give Dudley Dursley a pig's tail, and causing him to choke Igor Karkaroff another time.

Harry Potter and Hagrid shared a special relationship. Hagrid was one of the first people (if not the first) Harry could remember showing him genuine kindness and appearing to truly care for him. Hagrid was the one who introduced Harry back into the wizarding world[12], and he empathised with Harry's situation, as they were both a bit different from wizarding norm and were orphans who had been more or less left to fend for themselves[14]. Hagrid was Harry's first true friend, and the two helped each other get through many difficult situations and constantly looked out for one another. Though Harry often took issue with Hagrid's penchant for collecting dangerous pets, as well as the fact Hagrid decided to bring his Gianthalf-brother to Hogwarts[10], he never failed to support Hagrid in his efforts to protect and care for all of them. When Harry learned about Hagrid's half-giant status, he never showed any concern about it, citing his relationship to the Dursleys as an example of how people shouldn't be judged by who they were related to but who they were themselves.

Harry and Hagrid had a brief falling out in Harry's sixth year when he didn't take Care of Magical Creatures. They made up when Harry pretended to be sad that Aragog was dying.

Hagrid also met Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley through Harry, and he presumably remained in touch with all three of them well after their time at Hogwarts, as in 2017, Harry reminded his son, Albus, that he had been invited to Hagrid's hut for tea upon his arrival at Hogwarts.[16]

J.K. Rowling planned that, as Hagrid was the person who brought Harry into the Wizarding World for the first time he could remember, he would be the one carrying Harry's "dead" body out of the Forbidden Forest.

Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley

Hermione: "Look, Hagrid's our friend, why don't we just go and ask him about it?"

Ron: "That would be a cheerful visit. "Hello Hagrid! Tell us, have you been setting anything mad and hairy loose in the castle lately?""

Like Harry, both Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley had a close relationship with the half-giant. Though Ron was openly outraged by some of Hagrid's more dangerous pets, particularly Aragog, Hermione was more reserved with her comments and tended to be more proactive than either Ron or Harry when it came to helping Hagrid protect his creatures. She tried desperately to help him appeal Buckbeak's death sentence in 1994[13], and in her fifth year, she made every effort to ensure sure Hagrid's Care of Magical Creatures curriculum would give Dolores Umbridge no excuse to sack him[10].

Hagrid comforting Hermione after she was called a 'Mudblood' by Draco Malfoy

When Rita Skeeter revealed that Hagrid was half-giant in the Daily Prophet, both Ron and Hermione stood by him and convinced him that despite all the prejudice he faced, there were still people who loved him and wanted him to stay at the school. Hagrid was on the point of resigning, but with their encouragement, remained at Hogwarts and continued teaching[14].

Hagrid came to Hermione's defence during her third year when she was in conflict with the boys (as Ron believed her cat had eaten his rat Scabbers, and Harry was angry that she had gotten his Firebolt confiscated). Hagrid was able to convince Harry and Ron of how poorly they were treating their friend, and eventually, he succeeded in getting the two to reconcile with Hermione[13]. He also encouraged Hermione during her fourth year to ignore the hate mail as he had following Rita Skeeter releasing a nasty article about Hermione in Witch Weekly.

It is possible that Hagrid was close with Ron and Hermione's daughter, Rose Weasley and their son Hugo Weasley, as he was planning to have tea with Harry's son, Albus, in 2017.

During the Triwizard Tournament, Hagrid began a romantic relationship with Madame Olympe Maxime, Headmistress of Beauxbatons Academy. They were often seen together, talking and walking around the grounds, and they danced together at the Yule Ball. Though the two had a minor falling-out when Hagrid implied (correctly) that Maxime, like him, was part Giant, they eventually reconciled and travelled together to appeal to the Giants of the Northern colonies and dissuade them from joining forces with Voldemort. Maxime was also seen comforting Hagrid during Albus Dumbledore's funeral. The current status of their relationship is unknown, but as Hagrid never got married, it can be assumed that their relationship did not work out[1].

As Riddle went on to become Lord Voldemort, Hagrid joined the Order of the Phoenix to fight against Voldemort and his Death Eaters. In 1981, Hagrid was devastated by the murder of his friends James and Lily Potter, but was relieved when the Dark Lord disappeared after failing to kill young Harry Potter. Although many thought that Voldemort was dead, Hagrid, agreeing with Dumbledore, believed that he would return one day as he believed that he didn't "have enough human left in him to die". As with most of the wizarding community, he refused to speak Voldemort's name, and generally referred to him as "You-Know-Who."

In 1998, Hagrid fought in the Battle of Hogwarts and was captured by the Death Eaters. After Harry sacrificed himself to be killed, Voldemort ordered a grieving Hagrid to carry his friend’s “dead” body in his arms, where it would be clearly visible to Harry's supporters. On the way back to the school, Hagrid expressed his fury with the Centaurs for staying out of the fight, prompting them to join in soon after[16].

Hagrid was among the first to congratulate Harry after his defeat of Voldemort, showing his disdain for the Dark Lord.It is never stated if he knew or would know that his former classmate, and the Dark Lord were one and the same. Given that Hagrid told Harry about Voldemort being a Slytherin student, it is likely that he did know.

Weasley family

Hagrid was good friends with Molly and Arthur Weasley, though it is uncertain as to when they first met, Arthur and Molly not having been in the original Order of the Phoenix . He was most likely assistant or co- gatekeeper when Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were at school, because of the Ogg timeline discrepancy. (See the Ogg entry) . (Hagrid would have started his gatekeeper training in 1943 or 1944 after his expulsion from Hogwarts.) Arthur and Molly would have attended nearly two decades later (1960s). He met them again in 1992, at Flourish and Blotts, when the Arthur got into a fist fight with Lucius Malfoy. Hagrid broke up the fight and told Arthur that he should have ignored Malfoy, though he clearly sympathised with Arthur on acting the feelings Malfoy went out of his way to inspire.

Twins Fred and George Weasley were friends of Hagrid since their time at Hogwarts. Hagrid seemed to be one of their favourite members of the staff, as he had a sense of humour and was not anywhere near as strict as many of the professors, though he mentioned that he spent "half his life" chasing the twins away from the Forbidden Forest.

Bill Weasley also attended Hogwarts prior to working in Egypt with Gringotts Wizarding Bank, and Hagrid encountered him numerous times when he moved back to England. Bill arrived with the Order of the Phoenix at Hogwarts during the Battle of the Astronomy Tower, where he was attacked by Fenrir Greyback. Hagrid was invited to Bill's wedding to Fleur Delacour, in which Ginny, the youngest child and only daughter of the Weasley family, was a bridesmaid. Hagrid was quite fond of Ginny throughout her time at Hogwarts, and she was among the students who never even considered turning her back on Hagrid when she found out he was half giant. Hagrid also knew she had a crush on Harry Potter, and playfully teased Harry about the fact in 1992.

Hagrid didn't appear to have much of a relationship with Percy Weasley, though it's unlikely they would have been very close prior to the Battle of Hogwarts even if they had had more contact. Though neither Ron, nor Harry nor Hermione were likely to inform Hagrid of this, Percy wrote to his younger brother, Ron, upon finding out that Ron had been made a Prefect, and advised him against associating with Hagrid, as he was a half-giant. He also tried to persuade Ron to support the Ministry of Magic, in favour of Dumbledore, to whom Hagrid was fiercely loyal. However, Percy abandoned the Ministry once it fell to Lord Voldemort, apologised to his family, and fought against the Death Eaters at the Battle of Hogwarts, after which Hagrid would have undoubtedly thought better of him.

James and Lily Potter

"A car crash killed Lily and James Potter??? It’s an outrage! A scandal!"

Hogwarts staff

Hagrid would have known Remus Lupin for about as long as he knew the Potters and Sirius Black, though they didn't appear to be particularly close until 1993, when Lupin was appointed Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, and they became co-workers. Both Hagrid and Lupin knew what it was like to be within the wizarding community, yet still considered outsiders and face its prejudices, as Lupin was a werewolf and Hagrid was a half-giant.

Hagrid greatly respected Minerva McGonagall, the Transfiguration professor and Head of Gryffindor House. They attended Hogwarts at the same time, and they later became members of the Hogwarts staff. As one of the most strict professors at Hogwarts, McGonagall sometimes disapproved of Hagrid's unrefined behaviour, especially during the Sorting ceremony. However, they were close friends, and fellow members of the Order of the Phoenix in both wars. In 1995, when Dolores Umbridge brought several Ministry officials to either have Hagrid forcibly removed from the school grounds, arrested, or both, McGonagall immediately came to Hagrid's defence; she took four simultaneous stunners straight to her chest as she rushed to Hagrid's aid, and was incapacitated for some time at St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. Hagrid was furious when McGonagall got stunned to the point that he attacked the Ministry officials who injured her. After Albus Dumbledore's death, McGonagall stated that she appreciated Hagrid's opinion very much, as Dumbledore had, and took it into consideration when determining the best time to close the school. McGonagall later became Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where Hagrid was still living by 2017.

Hagrid always stoutly defended Severus Snape against Harry's doubts and allegations, on the basis that Albus Dumbledore trusted Snape completely. When Snape killed Dumbledore, Hagrid initially disbelieved the fact, and told Harry he must be mistaken. Though Hagrid was furious to learn that Snape had indeed murdered the late Headmaster, he learned of Snape's true loyalties during the final confrontation of the Battle of Hogwarts.

Hagrid and Argus Filch regularly found themselves at odds; Filch thought that Hagrid was "an oaf," and even told Mrs. Norris, his cat, to keep an eye on the Gateskeeper. Filch didn't seem to care or even really acknowledge when Hagrid became a professor, possibly because he was a half-giant, and Hagrid, for his part, called Filch a "sneakin' Squib", when the latter insulted him.

Hagrid had been very familiar with Divination Professor Firenze, long before he began working at Hogwarts, and when the Centaur's herd turned on him for entering into "the servitude of a human" by accepting the position at Hogwarts as a favour to Headmaster Dumbledore, it was Hagrid who saved him. Of all the Centaurs, Firenze seemed to be the most active in working against Lord Voldemort, and was not above allowing Harry Potter to ride on his back in the process of saving Harry's life-- both of which elicited great respect and gratitude from both Harry and Hagrid.

Hagrid also seemed to be on good terms with Horace Slughorn, the Potionsmaster in 1996. It is possible that Slughorn was one of Hagrid's teachers at Hogwarts, but they later became co-workers. Slughorn attended Aragog's funeral and comforted Hagrid, and while this was mostly because he wanted to extract some of Aragog's valuable venom, Hagrid was touched nonetheless, and the two enjoyed a drunken salute to the late Acromantula.

Hagrid disliked Gilderoy Lockhart, as did the other teachers, due to his being an obnoxious and annoyingly incompetent teacher. Hagrid did not read any of Lockhart's books, rejected his ideas of Harry trying to hog the spotlight, and openly criticised him, something that he would not normally do to a teacher.

Dursley family

Hagrid was sent by Albus Dumbledore to inform Harry Potter of his true identity on Harry's eleventh birthday in 1991, after it was revealed that Hogwarts' letters to him were getting blocked by his aunt and uncle, Vernon and Petunia Dursley, both muggles and magic-haters.

Eventually, Hagrid found Harry and his family in an old shack out at sea (Vernon Dursley had become paranoid with the amount of Hogwarts letters arriving at their home, so he had temporarily vacated their home in the hopes that they would throw off any wizards possibly following them.) After giving Harry a birthday cake, he introduced himself to Harry, believing him to know everything about the wizarding world (from the letter left by Albus Dumbledore.) When Harry knew nothing, Hagrid became angry at the Dursleys for not telling them anything.When Hagrid preceded to tell Harry that he was a wizard, Vernon became angry and admitted that they had known for years and had been trying to "stomp it out of him", including admitting that they lied to Harry in telling him that his parents had really been killed in a car crash. This further enraged Hagrid, but Vernon continued to try and keep Harry from going to Hogwarts, going so far as to call Albus Dumbledore a "crackpot old fool." This, however, sent Hagrid over the edge; he lost his temper and used his umbrella to give Dudley Dursley a pig's tail. This terrified Vernon and Petunia enough to let Hagrid take Harry. Eventually, they would remove the pig tail, but the encounter added a newfound fear of magic to the Dursleys' hatred of it.

In 1992, Hagrid broke up a fight between Arthur Weasley and Lucius Malfoy in Flourish and Blotts, though Hagrid was quite understanding of what Arthur had felt the need to do. During the 1992–1993 school year, Lucius was indirectly responsible for reopening of the Chamber of Secrets, as he had used the earlier scuffle with Arthur Weasley to slip Tom Riddle's diary into Ginny Weasley's cauldron full of books. Hagrid was blamed for the attacks, just as he had been fifty years earlier, when he was framed by Tom Riddle for the Chamber's first opening. Hagrid was arrested as a precautionary measure by Cornelius Fudge, where Hagrid reacted angrily to Lucius's unnecessary presence and ordered him to get out his house. Lucius mocked Hagrid by wondering how his small hut could be considered a "house", and claimed he was only there to inform Dumbledore that he and the other governors had voted on his suspension. Hagrid saw through Lucius and accused him of threatening the other governors, which later proved to have been exactly the case.

Hagrid did not get along any better with Lucius’ son Draco. Hagrid first met Draco in 1991 when he was sorted in Slytherin. During that year, Draco was put in detention with Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Neville Longbottom. Hagrid called Draco an "idiot", when he scared Neville, and in 1992, was outraged when he heard Draco called Hermione a mud-blood. Draco was in Hagrid’s Care of Magical Creatures class in 1993, and ignored Hagrid’s advice on how to handle Hagrid’s hippogriffBuckbeak. Draco insulted Buckbeak, causing the Hippogriff to lash out and and cut Draco’s arm. Hagrid took Draco to the hospital wing, but Draco swore revenge, and deliberately exaggerated his injury to get Hagrid into trouble. Lucius was furious when he found out and took legal action against Hagrid and Buckbeak. Hagrid tried hard to defend Buckbeak, but the court ruled in favour of Lucius, largely due to his influence at the Ministry, and Buckbeak was sentenced to death, though thanks to the efforts of Harry and Hermione, Buckbeak managed to escape. In Draco's fourth year, he openly disobeyed Hagrid by saying that he would not be coming down to look after the blast-ended skrewts, saying that he spent too much time with them during regular class. Hagrid, hearing about the previous punishment 'Moody' gave Draco, threatened to turn him into a ferret.

Robbie Coltrane was J.K Rowling's first and only choice for the role of Rubeus Hagrid. She did not, however, create the character with Robbie Coltrane in mind. He was instead, according to Coltrane, "based on a Hell's Angel she knew in the West Country. ...he was just huge and terrifying. And then he would sit down and talk about his garden and how his petunias had been very bad that year."[20]

As well as being Rowling's first choice for the role of Hagrid, Coltrane was also the first person cast in the movie. Interestingly, Coltrane is one of the few actors to play a character older than themselves(Hagrid is in his 60s throughout the series, whilst Coltrane was 51 when he first played Hagrid and 61 the last time he did)

When Harry mentions Hagrid at the conclusion of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows(novel), the year is 2017, and Hagrid is one year off turning 90 years old.

It is unknown why no-one calls Hagrid 'Rubeus', which is his first name, although when Hagrid meets Harry for the first time he tell's him to call him Hagrid as that's what everyone calls him. This possibly means that Hagrid tells people to call him by this name.

Since Robbie Coltrane is not really 8-feet 6-inches tall, he was usually filmed from a low camera angle to make him look bigger (usually Harry's angle) or the other actors are filmed from a high camera angle. [21]

In the the film version of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Hagrid seems to have poor spelling, as seen when he shows Harry his birthday cake.

In addition to this, when Hagrid tells Harry about how his parents were killed, Harry asked You-Know-Who's name. Hagrid responded he didn't want to say his name and when Harry suggested to write it down, Hagrid said he couldn't spell "Voldemort".

Throughout the series, it is implied that Hagrid had been the Hogwarts gatekeeper since he was expelled from school in 1943. But at one point in Goblet of Fire, Molly Weasley, who attended Hogwarts between 1961 and 1968, reminisces about Hagrid's predecessor, Ogg, in contradiction to this implication. However, it is possible that Hagrid did not become a gatekeeper immediately after being expelled, but rather started out as Ogg's assistant.

Despite the fact that Harry, Ron and Hermione are close friends to Hagrid, they never called him by his first name (Rubeus) possibly due to the fact that Hagrid told Harry to call him by this name on their first meeting and the others followed his suit (this is already mentioned in section 4).

J. K. Rowling states on her website that Hagrid is allergic to cats, as well as being hinted at in the first book, which could explain why he dislikes Mrs. Norris so much.

Hagrid's LEGO mini-figure incarnations consists almost entirely of pieces exclusive only to Hagrid, specifically the body and beard pieces. His head in and of itself is not an exclusive piece, but his face pattern is.

Hagrid is a playable character in LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4. In the game, he can fly on a broomstick in the game in spite of the fact that he claims in the books to be too large to ride broomsticks.[23]

Fans of the series raised an immediate outcry upon learning that Hagrid never married. J.K. Rowling responded to the criticism by simply saying, "At least I didn't kill him."

In LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4, Hagrid is the first playable character, at the Leaky Cauldron in Diagon Alley. As Hagrid was expelled, he only has one spell on his Spell-Wheel, which is Wingardium Leviosa. However, after the player makes it to Hogwarts, he obtains his crossbow. Hagrid is unlocked in "The Forbidden Forest" level, by using Reducto on a silver chest in the third area.

In the extended version of 'JK Rowling and Daniel Radcliffe - A conversation' it is revealed that Rubeus is pronounced Roo-Bay-Us. It is unknown why JK Rowling did not ask for this to be the same in the films, somewhat like Voldemort, which in the books is pronounced with a silent T.

In the novel Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Hagrid was quoting "fool Gorgon" when he was about to sent a letter to Dumbledore regarding Harry Potter at the first time he met Harry. Either Hagrid quoted that line as a mere cursing, or he knew that Gorgons (women-like creatures from Greek with living snakes as hair) existed in the magical world.

Notes and references

↑In Chamber of Secrets, the date of that particular school year is firmly established as being 1992-1993. It is also said that Hagrid was expelled 50 years prior to this (1943), during his third year at Hogwarts. A third year student is 13-14 years old making Hagrid's year of birth 1928.

↑Though he didn't seem to perform a lot of complicated magic with it, the umbrella-wand functioned far better than any other broken wand, including Ron's first wand in 1992 and Harry's in late 1997-early 1998